Under the Radar Podcast

Greater Boston is home to one of the largest populations of Puerto Ricans. It's a local community that expanded by the thousands after World War II, when about six million islanders from the US territory made their way to the mainland looking for better economic opportunities.

They enriched the nation’s cultural melting pot with aspects of indigenous customs and traditions. Today, with an even greater appreciation for authentic representation and a ready audience to celebrate it, organizers have created BoriCorridor, an inaugural arts-led tour of the Northeast to celebrate Boricuan, or Puerto Rican, diaspora heritage. Under the Radar gets a preview before it arrives in Boston later this month.

GUESTS

Elsa Mosquera, Co-Founder and Principal at the Agora Cultural Architects And Creator of BoriCorridor.

Melissa Rodriguez, a stand-up comedian of Teatro Breve, the Puerto Rican variety show performing on the first weekend of the BoriCorridor tour.

From the 1500s through the Civil War, more than 10 million Black men, women and children were enslaved in America.

Slavery deemed them property. They were listed on bills of sale; their family members were sold away and their names were changed. After emancipation and the Civil War, the formerly enslaved found many of the familial threads of connection buried or lost. It’s why their African-American descendants have difficulty tracing their lineage.

Now, a local organization is leading a national collaborative project to identify each of the 10 million people, stories, and names of those who were enslaved in pre- and post-colonial America.

Danyelle White, who has been restoring her personal Black lineage for 6 years, highlights the need for this project: "I'm almost doing this for the sake of justice...I am very interested in uncovering stories and creating a full picture, not just for myself, but [for] the rest of my family, and for everyone else. We all deserve to understand where we come from."

Dr. Kendra Taira Field, chief historian of 10 Million Names, says that this is just the beginning of many years of hard work that must go into heritage recovery and restoration: "We're at a really powerful and beautiful moment of great potential and possibility... As we bring together the tools of historians, genealogists, and descendants, I think we have a great, great future ahead."

"It's pretty hard to tell the history of slavery without talking about the white folks and their involvement," said Richard Cellini, founding director of 10 Million Names. He emphasizes that this work is necessary for all of America, regardless of whether you are Black or not: "This is not Black history and it's not white history. This is American history."

GUESTS

Dr. Kendra Taira Field, chief historian of 10 Million Names, associate professor of history and director of the center for the study of race and democracy at Tufts University

Richard Cellini, founding director of 10 Million Names, director of the Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program and founder of the Georgetown Memory Project

Danyelle White, vice president of strategic initiatives & community engagement at the Salt Lake Tribune, she has been tracing her Black family heritage for 6 years

In 1993, "The Joy Luck Club" was a surprise hit. The poignant story featuring an all-Asian cast broke barriers at the box office.

Would "The Joy Luck Club" inspire more stories drawn from the Asian American experience? No, as it turned out — it took 25 years before 2018’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” another film featuring an all-Asian cast, became a breakout global hit.

Last year, Asian representation got its biggest boost since “Crazy Rich Asians” when the movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once” reaped top box office receipts as well as near-universal acclaim from critics and fans.

This year, Asian representation in TV and movies presents us with "the biggest menu yet," says Elena Creef, professor of women’s and gender studies at Wellesley College. "I am so thrilled to see the most diversity across genres of storytelling for Asian-American stories — I think ever."

Jenny Korn, research affiliate at Harvard University, celebrates the focus on the intersectional identities of Asians in this year's catalog, including the film "Joy Ride."

"I will say this movie has the greatest amount of queer visibility for Asians," she said, adding that "of all the movies that we're discussing today, [it] does the most explicit job of declaring authenticity for Asians and intra-Asian across ethnicities."

In this special hourlong discussion, Under the Radar looks at a broad sample of new Asian-American representation in movies and shows like "Past Lives," "BEEF," "The Brothers Sun" and more.

GUESTS

Jenny Korn, Research Affiliate and Founder and Coordinator of the Race, Tech and Media Working Group at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

Elena Creef, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Wellesley College. specializing in Asian American visual history in photography, film and popular culture.

In the 1950s, most single, white middle-class women were expected to marry and raise a family — much like their mothers before them.

But becoming a flight attendant, or a "stewardess" as they were referred to then, offered another kind of life for young women — a life of adventure.

From GBH’s "American Experience" program, the new documentary "Fly with Me" showcases the firsthand accounts of the pioneering women, who historians argue, transformed the workplace — both in the air and on the ground.

Co-director Sarah Colt describes the stewardesses featured in the film as women filled with "wanderlust," who were "interesting and engaged with pushing boundaries.

These young women were drawn to an independent life of travel and glamor. But the airlines also imposed women-only job restrictions like weigh-ins, and deliberately excluded Black women.

Under the Radar host Callie Crossley spoke with Sarah Colt, co-director of the film and Julia Cooke, author and historian, about the film and the role flight attendants played in the movement for gender equity in the workplace.

GUESTS

Sarah Colt, writer and co-director of "Fly With Me," an "American Experience" documentary and GBH production

Julia Cooke, author and historian featured in "Fly With Me"

Forty acres and a mule. That’s what was promised to thousands of the formerly enslaved in a post-Civil War nation. Since then, America has grappled with the idea of reparations for Black Americans.

But in recent years, some cities, towns, and states have begun to consider — and move forward — with reparations as atonement for America’s cruel history of slavery.

A new 7-part podcast from GBH News called "What Is Owed?" explores what reparations might look like in Boston, one of the oldest cities in America, and if there is an achievable plan for the rest of the country.

GUESTS

Saraya Wintersmith, politics reporter for GBH News and host of "What Is Owed?"

Jerome Campbell, senior producer for "What Is Owed?"

Dr. William Darity, professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics and the director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University

Editor's note: This episode originally broadcast November 24, 2023.

When the MacArthur Foundation named its class of 2023 “genius grant" fellows last month, the recipients joined an exclusive group of previous fellows who have demonstrated outstanding talent and leadership in their fields.

Interdisciplinary scholar and writer Imani Perry is one of this year's MacArthur fellows.

“I describe my work in part as haunting the past,” Perry said. “I'm trying to train my attention on those who were disregarded in the past as a way of shaping our ethics for the present and the future. So it's sort of like trying to catch a hold of freedom, dreams that have existed over the course of generations, train my gaze and shine a light on them.”

Perry, who is also a Boston University professor, studies the history and the cultural expressions forged by Black Americans in the face of injustice. There are 20 MacArthur fellows across the country, and Perry is one of four based in the Boston area. We talked with professor Perry for Under the Radar's series, “The Genius Next Door.”

Editor's note: This episode originally broadcast on November 24, 2023.

In 1973, Americans triumphed in a fashion smackdown that earned the country respect and admiration among critics worldwide.

On that day 50 years ago, American and French designers went head-to-head in a creative competition dubbed the “Battle of Versailles." The fashion show was held at the historic Palace of Versailles, the former residence of King Louis XIV.

The Americans won with cutting-edge ready-to-wear and stunning Black models. A half-century later, the legacy of the once-obscure event continues to shape global fashion.

GUESTS

Robin Givhan, senior critic-at-large for the Washington Post and author of “The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History”

Alva Chinn, actress and model from the 1973 "Battle of Versailles"

Jay Calderin, founder and executive director of Boston Fashion Week and co-director of education at the School of Fashion Design in Boston

Almost thirty years ago, President Bill Clinton formally declared the “President's Initiative on Race” with the goal of jumpstarting a national discussion about race. Arguably, there ended up being more conversation about the initiative than the actual discussions he’d hoped it would inspire.

In 2016, former Boston mayor Marty Walsh ushered in a similar citywide race conversation.

Last month, GBH announced a multifaceted program to spark a new public conversation about the nation’s race history. GBH President and CEO Susan Goldberg joins Under the Radar to discuss the importance of the new “Reckoning and Repair” initiative.

GUEST

Susan Goldberg, president and CEO of GBH

The blood-soaked heritage of America’s enslavement of an estimated 10 million Africans is a fact. Yet some Americans refuse to recognize or openly discuss the communal inherited pain, shame and anger linked to that history.

But conversations about this fraught history are happening, according to author and journalist Michele Norris' latest book, “Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity.”

Norris describes the real-life anecdotes from Americans in her book as "like you're just walking through America and hearing people speaking out loud about the things that they only usually only talk about in private."

GUEST

Michele Norris, author, journalist for The Washington Post, host and executive producer of the podcast, "Your Mama's Kitchen," and former co-host of NPR's "All Things Considered"

Florida bolsters its reputation as an anti-LGBTQ state with a new rule — trans residents can no longer update their driver’s license with their correct gender identity.

Plus, a New Hampshire town manager stepped down after being harassed in an ongoing controversy about an LGBTQ art display.

And the Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill to repeal several archaic sodomy and anti-trans laws.

Those stories and more on Under the Radar's LGBTQ News Roundtable.

GUESTS

Grace Sterling Stowell, executive director of the Boston Alliance of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Youth, or BAGLY

E.J. Graff, journalist, author and managing editor of Good Authority, an independent site publishing insights on political science

Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, or GLAD

Grace Elizabeth Hale grew up hearing that the real-life heroism of her grandfather mirrored the fictional courageous confrontation of Atticus Finch, the hero of "To Kill A Mockingbird."

While she had been told her grandfather, a county sheriff in Mississippi had protected a Black man from a lynch mob, who then died in his custody the following day trying to escape — the facts showed a different story.

"I knew the story that I had been told... but it just made it clear that none of it was true, that this was a big cover up," Hale told Under the Radar.

During her research as a historian and scholar, Hale uncovered the shocking details of one lynching that exposed the truth of her family lore. In fact, Hale’s home state of Mississippi holds the record for the most lynchings in the country.

“In the Pines: A Lynching, A Lie, A Reckoning” documents Hale's family history, and the bloody vigilante tradition embedded in the nation’s history.

GUEST

Grace Elizabeth Hale, professor of American Studies and History at the University of Virginia and author of "In the Pines: A Lynching, A Lie, A Reckoning"

New Hampshire is not generally considered a beacon of Black culture, where the last census documented people of color to be just a fraction of the general population.

But the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire is working to prove how generations of Black Americans have informed both the Granite state’s — and the nation’s — history. 

Under the Radar explores the trials and triumphs of Harriet Wilson, Amos Fortune and Ona Judge, among other lesser known figures that are all foundational to New Hampshire’s past and present.

GUESTS

JerriAnne Boggis, executive director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire

Kabria Baumgartner, associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at Northeastern University

Courtney Marshall, English teacher at Phillips Exeter Academy

From the Oxford English to the Merriam-Webster, English language dictionaries are well established in the U.S.

But the effort to create dictionaries of indigenous languages is growing, including a new one capturing Cape Verdean Creole.

A local publisher is documenting the common tongue of the West African nation — and of many Greater Boston immigrants — in an English to Cape Verdean dictionary to be published later this year.

GUESTS

Manuel Da Luz Goncalves, founder and owner of Mili Mila Inc.

Abel Djassi Amado, associate professor of political science and international relations at Simmons University

Climate change has sparked a sharp rise in fires, floods and other natural calamities. Now, the Biden administration has directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to speed up victims' ability to get immediate monetary support through benefits including “displacement assistance.” In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey has released the first round of funding for cities impacted by flooding last year.

Plus, new research reveals plastic water bottles have up to 100 times more tiny plastic particles than previously estimated — a threat to the environment and health.

And bitter cold unplugged electric vehicles across the country as batteries lost their charge.

It’s Under the Radar's Environmental News Roundtable.

GUESTS

Dr. Gaurab Basu, director of education and policy at the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Beth Daley, executive editor and general manager of The Conversation U.S.

Cabell Eames, policy consultant for Vote Solar

Whether you measure it by its politics, pubs or people, Boston's Irish heritage is unavoidable — but Ireland's northeastern neighbor is beginning to step out of its shadow.

From bagpipes to the savory meat pudding known as haggis, local Scottish groups are making a push for more recognition of their distinct culture and history throughout New England.

Under the Radar discusses the inaugural "Not Your Usual Burns Night," which will honor Scotland's national poet with traditional poetry, song, dance and Scotch whisky — and how that event just a part of the effort to bring Boston’s Scottish culture alive.

GUESTS

Dr. Larry Bethune, vice president of Scots in New England

Dr. Peter Abbott, British Consul General to New England

As goes New Hampshire, so goes the nation? A Granite State mantra will likely be put to the test in this Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.

Former President Donald Trump trounced his competitors in last week’s Iowa caucus with the biggest margin of victory in the history of the state’s Republican caucuses. But has his momentum been slowed in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary?

Meanwhile, after the Granite State refused to accept second place to South Carolina in the Democratic National Committee’s primary cycle, President Joe Biden is not on the ballot. That isn’t stopping local Democrats from leading a write-in campaign for him.

Plus, a new study shows New Hampshire’s primary could be impacted by an influx of new voters — potentially as many as 245,000 new voters.

Under the Radar's New Hampshire Insiders are back!

GUESTS

Arnie Arnesen, former New Hampshire democratic legislator, nominee for governor and candidate for U.S. Congress, and host of WNHN’s The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen

Paul Steinhauser, national politics reporter for Fox News and campaign columnist for The Concord Monitor

Last year, a new memorial was unveiled in Boston Common to honor the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. Embrace Boston, the organization behind the memorial, also announced the names of civil rights leaders whose names were embedded in the Boston Common plaza where the sculpture sits.

Now Embrace Boston is adding to the roster by recognizing the 2024 Embrace Honorees who have, in the organization’s words, worked to build “a more equitable Boston.”

GUESTS

L. Duane Jackson, former architect and member of the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Port Authority, managing member of Alinea Capital Partners, LLC and an Embrace Boston 2024 Honoree

Deborah Jackson, former president of Cambridge College, CEO of the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts and Vice President of the Boston Foundation, and an Embrace Boston 2024 Honoree

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday that is also designated a National Day of Service. Reverend King spent his life in service leading the campaign for social justice during the civil rights movement — and a new documentary looks at a new generation following in his footsteps.

"Brief Tender Light" follows four Black African students from Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Nigeria, as they embark on their education at MIT. They pledge to return to their home countries after graduation and become agents of change, but their years abroad challenge them in unexpected ways.

Under the Radar sits down with the director and a student featured in "Brief Tender Light" as the nation marks Martin Luther King Jr.'s 95th birthday.

GUESTS

Arthur Musah, director and producer of "Brief Tender Light"

Philip Abel Adama, CTO and co-founder of Cleva Banking and a student featured in Brief Tender Light

Barbra Streisand's life and career has long been the stuff of legend and mystery — until now.

The singer, actress, director and activist spent 10 years writing her new memoir, and at nearly 1,000 pages it fills in the behind-the-scenes details fans have long craved.

From lifelong insecurities and singular triumphs, to devastating losses and her ongoing fight against the industry sexism which sought to limit how she used her artistic gifts, Under the Radar reviews "My Name is Barbra" with two experts on her talent and life.

GUESTS

Garrett Stewart, professor of literature and cinema at the University of Iowa, author of “Streisand: The Mirror of Difference”

Matt Howe, founder of Barbra Archives, a Barbra Streisand fan website and author of “Barbra Streisand: The Music, the Albums, the Singles”

Local shoppers at the California-based grocery store chain Trader Joe's and Massachusetts’ own Market Basket know there is no self-checkout in either store.

Even as self-service checkouts gained floor space in other American grocery and retail stores, those two bet that their customers preferred the efficiency of trained human staff. And recently, some large retailers — Walmart, Costco and Dollar General — have announced they are rethinking self-checkout by adding more staff, or in some cases, removing the machines altogether.

Advocates say self-checkout is convenient and reduces employee costs, while critics argue the system has failed to deliver on those promises as many businesses have been hit with merchandise losses from customer errors and shoplifting.

Under the Radar looks to the future of self-checkout to find out if the practice has gone stale.

GUESTS

Rita McGrath, academic director of executive education at Columbia Business School

Phil Lempert, founder and CEO of Supermarket Guru, a food and health news hub